Valley of the Queens in Luxor and its painted royal tombs
Published on 08/24/2026 at 17:53 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂŒller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
On the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, Valley of the Queens gathers royal wives and children of Egypt’s New Kingdom into a single desert hollow marked by vividly painted tombs. Its ancient name, Ta-Set-Neferu, is usually translated as “the place of the beautiful ones” and captures the visual richness of its decorated burial chambers for queens such as Nefertari, Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II, whose tomb QV66 stands among the finest painted monuments in the Theban Necropolis.Valley of the Queens
A royal cemetery in Luxor’s western hills
Valley of the Queens lies within the Theban Necropolis, in the arid hills backing Luxor’s west bank, south of the Valley of the Kings and not far from mortuary temples such as Medinet Habu.gorge in the hills along the western bank of the Nile River The burial ground occupies a main wadi, cut into the desert slope, and is associated with smaller side valleys including the Valley of Prince Ahmose, Valley of the Rope, Valley of the Three Pits and Valley of the Dolmen.side valleys such as the Valley of Prince Ahmose
Use of Valley of the Queens as a royal cemetery belongs to the New Kingdom period and is especially tied to the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties, when queens, princes, princesses and other members of the royal family of Thebes were interred here.burial site of the queens and some royal children of the 19th and 20th dynasties More than 75 tombs have been identified, many laid out with a descending passage, short halls and a final burial chamber carved into the bedrock, following the general pattern of contemporary tombs in the Valley of the Kings.more than 90 known tombs
Ta-Set-Neferu and the tomb of Nefertari
The ancient designation Ta-Set-Neferu, rendered as “the place of the beautiful ones”, signals how strongly decoration and aesthetic effect mattered in Valley of the Queens, whose walls carry scenes from funerary texts and episodes of royal devotion.Ta-Set-Neferu, “the place of the beautiful ones” Among the known burials here, QV66, the tomb of Queen Nefertari, Great Wife of Ramesses II, has gained particular attention for the preservation and colour of its paintings, which cover walls and ceilings with images of the queen before the gods, passages from the Book of the Dead and bands of hieroglyphic text.QV66 is the tomb of Nefertari, the Great Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II
Nefertari’s tomb was discovered in 1904 by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli on the northern flank of Valley of the Queens, adding a major monument to the collections and study material of early twentieth?century Egyptology.discovered in 1904 in the Valley of the Queens by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli Other named tombs in the valley belong to figures such as Titi, Khaemwaset and Amunherkhepshef, sons and consorts linked to the Ramesside court, and together they offer an insight into the extended royal household and the artistic workshop that supplied funerary imagery across Thebes.tombs of Titi, Khaemwaset and Amunherkhepshef
World Heritage desert landscape and approach
Valley of the Queens forms part of the ensemble of ancient Thebes recognised on the World Heritage List, alongside sites such as Karnak, the Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings, reflecting its importance within the ritual and funerary landscape of Upper Egypt.added to the World Heritage List The setting is a dry valley cut into pale cliffs and broken slopes, with paths leading from the ticket area towards clusters of tomb entrances set low in the rock, some sheltered by simple structures that protect their doorways from sun and wind.
From Luxor on the east bank, travellers cross the Nile and continue by road across the cultivated strip to the desert edge, then into the west?bank necropolis where Valley of the Queens occupies a position south?west of the Valley of the Kings and within sight of large mortuary temples.situated in the Theban Necropolis, just across the Nile from Luxor The approach passes from green riverine fields into bare rock and gravel, underlining how sharply the ancient Egyptians distinguished between the world of cultivation and the desert zone reserved for royal burial.
Visiting Valley of the Queens: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Valley of the Queens stands on Luxor’s west bank within the Theban Necropolis, reached by crossing the Nile from the city and continuing by road through the necropolis towards the desert wadi.
- The terrain around the tombs consists of dry paths on gravel and rock with some stairs leading down to entrances, so visits involve walking on uneven ground and using steps inside narrow passages.
- The official language is Arabic and the currency is the Egyptian pound.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Valley of the Queens
Where is Valley of the Queens in relation to Luxor and other sites?
Valley of the Queens lies in the Theban Necropolis on Luxor’s west bank, south of the Valley of the Kings and within the wider landscape of royal mortuary temples.
What should visitors expect when entering the valley and its tombs?
Visitors follow desert paths to rock?cut tombs whose interiors are decorated with New Kingdom scenes and hieroglyphs, reached by passages and chambers carved into the hillside.
What makes Valley of the Queens distinctive among Luxor’s ancient sites?
It focuses on burials of royal women and children of the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties and includes the richly painted tomb of Nefertari, set within a named desert wadi dedicated to “the beautiful ones”.
